I will revisit this thread later in the year or next year after I lean more about the program and the NIH. But before I forget, I want to talk about the interview a bit. So like I said, 3 total interviews of 30 minutes each. All my interviews went over the time limit (which is good I guess). one event went as long as 45-50 minutes because we had a good conversation going. The interviews are selected (at least somewhat) based on your research interest, which you state in your application.
Tip #1 - interview is way chiller than med school. All the faculty researchers who interview you are nice and not trying to grill you.
Tip #2 - Make sure your Zoom setup is good, it may be virtual next year to. Surprised how many applicants wee in a dark or messy room with a crap webcam. People should know this by now.
Tip #3 - The convo is short and will be almost entirely research related. know your CV well, and all your research experiences. Know what you did, the results etc. If you're 12984th author on a paper from 2015, read the paper over and know it somewhat well even if you took little part in it. They won't grill you on it, but if you can't describe the paper its going to be a huge red flag.
Tip #4 - you will be told the interviewers a week in advance. Know who they are and what they research. You don't need to memorize their publications for the last 10 years, but if they study glioblastomas, know that. If they have an MD/phd, know that. I actually googled them and found clips of all of the, discussing their research at a conference or for some article or something. Not that I'm a stalker, but hearing them speak really helped me calm my nerves going into it. I felt like I already knew them.
Tip #5 - know potential labs/PIs at the NIH you'd be interested in working with. All 3 interviewers asked me this. Just have 1 or 2 people in mind. don't need to know much, just know what they study and why you'd like to join them. This shows you're interested and have done your research.
Tip #6 - Ask intelligent questions. Don't ask a question just to ask. For example, I asked an MD/PhD who interviewed me if he felt that the training received in MRSP would be sufficient for a research career, and if they'd suggest doing a post-doc fellowship or a residency with dedicated research time etc (long story short-yes. They said if you want to be competitive for NIH funding as an MD, you need to). They really apprecieted the question and went off.
Tip #7 - They will ALL ask where you see your career going. Have a general career/life plan
Tip #8 - THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP. They want and only want students who 1) are passionated about research and 2) will take FULL advantage of the program. This is how you'll get the interview in the first place (through your PS) and how you'll be accepted afterwards. Make sure if your interviewers take one thing home from the interview, its this. They don't give a **** if you go to HMS or UCSF, as long as you're passionate about research and hungry to learn.
Questions I remember being asked:
- tell me about yourself (duh)
- How'd you find out about the MRSP
- What about research interest you
- Have you had a chance to window shop and look at labs you might be interested joining
- Why are you interested in [specialty]
- What do you plan to accomplish in this program
- Where do you see yourself in 10, 20, 30 years
- If I was Melinda gates and gave you 1 billion dollars to spend on any research you want, what would you do with the money
- If I were to talk to Dr. _____ in the _____ Center about you joining her lab, what would I tell her
- Research is a lifelong commitment, do you see anything that could push you off this path in the future (I was honest, and said maybe a family could, but balance is key and something I will need to learn and navigate)
- One interviewer asked me about something interesting I did during undergrad, but that was more a curiosity thing.
Sorry for any typos, I did not look this over before posting
